Children love surprise
happenings including some of their unintended consequences
particularly when it affects others.

In Mark J. Grant's
Lila: The Sign of the Elven Queen a
big-eyed six-year old Lila always wanted to have a dog of her own.
Lila informs us that this was something due to her uncle Mark, who
was not really her uncle, as her father explained, however, this
didn't matter. Mark had two special Aussie rescue dogs and Lila
couldn't understand why people would abandon their dogs. It was
similar to some of those math problems at school which she had
difficulty comprehending. And whenever Lila couldn't understand
something she would reason that it all boiled down to a numbers over
sixty problem that seemed to always stump her.

Although
Lila had two cats, she suspected that her Papa would not allow
another animal in their Manhattan apartment and she also surmised
that her building would not allow dogs. To work out her problem she
decided to have an invisible dog that no one could see, only herself.
She knew, however, that before proceeding with her plan she had to
receive her Papa's permission.

When
Lila broached the subject with her Papa, all kinds of questions
popped up such as what would one do with an invisible dog, where do
you get its invisible food or an invisible brush, and what if the
invisible dog was using the toilet when Papa needed to shave or
wanted to take a shower? Nonetheless, in the end and to make Lila
happy, her parents decided that it was quite alright to permit an
invisible dog in their apartment and they also agreed with Lila's
decision to name the dog Fluffy.

The
next challenge Lila faced was where to find an invisible dog and this
is resolved when she and her Papa are about to enter a pet store when
around the corner a black and white Aussie suddenly appears with the
bluest eyes that Lila had ever seen. It was a dog that Lila had hoped
and prayed for. Fluffy was not only a dog, but one that could
actually talk, which it did when it introduced itself to Lila.

In the
days that followed, Fluffy integrates itself into Lila's life and
even goes with her to school and the ice cream store.

One
Sunday, following information she had received from Fluffy, Lila asks
her Papa if he knew there were other invisible dogs and people. Her
Papa was not quite sure what to make of all of this, however, he did
go along with her suggestion that he and her Mama spend the afternoon
trying to find these invisible people. Lila assures her Papa that
according to Fluffy invisible people live in two places, the
cornerstones of buildings and in the boulders of Central Park.

The
four set off including Fluffy and eventually reach a building with a
cornerstone. After Fluffy scratches on it, a voice yells out asking
if he could something do for them. You can well imagine how
flabbergasted they all were when they heard this voice! The next
thing they knew they were beckoned into a house inside a cornerstone
in the middle of downtown Manhattan. It is here where they meet
Ragnar who tells them that many years ago that he and a group left
Iceland and wound up in New York.

Another
thread of the story is introduced when it is discovered that Lila was
born with a magical scar on her forearm which turns out to be a sign
from which the book derives its name and this leads to a very
surprising outcome. We also discover something incredible concerning
Fluffy as well as the invisible people that are encountered all of
which will turn the lives of Lila and her parents upside down.

The
strength of this children's fairytale lies with its vivid characters
and playful language which are quite in evidence.Lila
is characterized as a six year old that is ahead of her age in
trying to understand the world around her. She is also someone that
young readers can easily relate to as she is genuine-someone they
feel comfortable with. Grant also manages to insert humor into the
tale that makes light of some of Lila's predicaments and will surely
make some young readers laugh. The language is acceptable for readers
in the 8-10 year old category. The weak spot of this book is
that it was overwritten. There were several chapters that could have
been left out without affecting the story line and in fact they were
more of a hindrance than a help as they slowed down the reading of
the story. Nonetheless, children and even adults will be captivated
with this delightful story.